The image of a child releasing a pigeon, an olive branch in its beak, has the same stencil-style of the mysterious artist.

Passer-by Thomas Beamond, 22, spotted the graffiti on Sunday on a wall in a secluded car park at the back of The Parade’s Bank of Cyprus.

He said: “I’m a huge fan of Banksy, his work is incredible. Who doesn’t like Banksy?

“It looks like it could be a Banksy. One thing that is certain - it’s a great piece of art. Everyone is talking about it. I think the child is trying to catch the bird.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Banksy has made a bee-line for Birmingham.

In 2009, a life-sized sticker on wooden hoardings in the Jewellery Quarter caused excitement in the art world. Many experts were convinced the image of man with a plug attached to his back was an authentic Banksy.

The artworks titled Grenade and Drums and Sid Vicious 100% Punk arrived in an articulated lorry trailer owned by a family in Norfolk.

Spotting the Real McCoy from the steady stream of fakes is notoriously difficult. Often it’s the location and topic, not spray-paint style, that gives the game away.

While others select out-of-the way areas, the spray-can supremo picks busy locations and political themes. He’s appeared in Melbourne - his “Parachuting Rat” was accidentally destroyed by plumbers - and New York in 2011.

He once stated: “Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring.

"A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall - it’s wet.”